Results of the seven country trial were published in the New England Journal of Medicine; India has a high burden of drug resistant TB
One of the toughest challenges in the battle against drug resistant tuberculosis is the long and difficult treatment regimen. However a new trial has now unveiled shorter treatment regimens that may work for forms of the bacterial infection that do not respond to first and second line antibiotics.
The phase III trial was conducted by a team of international researchers who are part of the endTB (Evaluating Newly Approved Drugs for Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis) project. They concluded that all three shorter regimens work for rifampicin resistant tuberculosis. The results were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Dr. Lorenzo Guglielmetti, MSF Co-Principal investigator for the endTB clinical trial said in an interview: “The endTB trial results are a milestone in the fight against MDR/RR-TB, a form of tuberculosis that is very difficult to treat because it became resistant to standard medication. In the trial, we saw remarkable cure rates with three new TB regimens – combinations of TB drugs that had not been used as such before. They all are 9-month treatment regimens and include four to five drugs. These regimens significantly reduce the treatment duration compared to the 18-month standard treatment.”
They all are 9-month treatment regimens and include four to five drugs. These regimens significantly reduce the treatment duration
India has a high burden of drug resistant TB and is estimated to be home to a quarter of the drug resistant TB cases in the world. TB pathogen becomes resistant to standard antibiotics when a TB patient is started on a treatment regimen but does not complete it so that the bacteria, exposed to a non lethal dose of the medicine develops resistance to it.
Dr. Guglielmetti added: “They have a similar or increased efficacy. For patients, these results are crucial. Traditional MDR/RR-TB treatment is often a long and difficult battle with considerable side effects. The new regimens tested in the endTB trial can drastically improve the patients’ quality of life. They make it easier for patients to complete the full treatment and ultimately increase the chances of full recovery. The endTB trial results complement other recent research breakthroughs. For the first time in decades, we’re seeing real, sustainable progress in treating this form of TB.”
